Telescoping row locks

ABSTRACT

In a telescoping stepped row structure, a lock lever on one row is weighted to swing normally into engagement with the end of a stop bar on a preceding row frame as the rows are extended so as to secure the rows firmly in extended position, while an elongated wedge tripper on a preceding row extending at an angle to the lock lever engages the lever as the rows are contracted to move the lever laterally into unlocked position.

United StateS Patent 7 [1 Raymond et a].

[ 1 3,768,215 51 Oct. so, 1973 TELESCOPING ROW LOCKS [75] Inventors: David W. Raymond, Champaign;

Robert E. Quigley, Mahomet, both of Ill.

[73] Assignee: American Seating Company, Grand Rapids, Mich. j J

[22] Filed: Dec. 17, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 209,157

52 u.s. c|..".. .52 9, 108/91 [51] Int. Cl E04h 3/12 [58] Field oiSearch 52/7-9;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,157,916 11/1964 Puestow 52/8 i mmu Drehobl 52/9 McClelland 52/9 Primary Examiner-John E. Murtagh Attorneylames J. Hill 57] ABSTRACT 6 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTED OCT 30 ms SHUI 1 [1F 3 INVENTORS David W. Raymond FIG.

E z ATTORNEYS PATENIEDomoma 3,768215 SHEET 2 BF 3 INVENTORS David W. Raymond RoberfE. Quigley and) WM) ATTORNEYS PATENIEnnm 30 ms Ill-II I SHEET 3 BF 3 I N VENTORS FIG. 4

E N m d mm My e cu RQJ, W.E mm 5 3w DRQ Y B 1 TELESCOPING Row LOCKS BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY In a seating structure comprising a plurality of telescoping seat rows arranged for movement between extended and contracted positions, it is found that an even slight irregularity in the floors on which the structure is moved is greatly magnified in the upper rows of the structure and a serious problem is presented in providing dependable unlocking when the rows are being folded or contracted after the spectator load is removed. In such structures, the spectator load produces a deflection of the row frame structures so that one row has a frame portion resting on another to solidify the entire structure, but before the rows are at least partially filled by spectators there is need, particularly in the higher rows, for locking means which will provide stability and a sense of rigidity when the first spectators climb to the top rows or descend from a balcony entry upon the top rows.

Unlocking the rows in sequence and early enough in the folding operation presents the greatest problem because, as stated above, irregularities in the floor surface after the spectator load is removed can cause wide toand-fro movements in the upper rows, and locking means heretofore employed requiring relatively close tolerances are not dependable.

We have discovered that it is possible to provide a lock structure which will automatically and firmly secure the upper rows without a spectator load when the rows are extended, while at the same time automati-- cally and dependably unlock the rows regardless of the relatively wide movement in the upper rows during folding. This is accomplished by pivotally mounting an elongated lock lever'weighted to engage a stop bar on a preceding row when the rows are extended and a tripper wedge or blade on a succeeding row and of sufficient length to engage and move the' lever laterally to unlocking position irrespective of such upper row movements. For this purpose, we provide a few parts which may readily be attached to existing seating structures or new structures at little expense and in a minimum of time.

DRAWINGS In the accompanying drawings,

FIG. 1 is a broken perspective view of a section of folding bleachers with which the locking mechanism of the present invention may be applied and showing a balcony above the bleachers providing a top entry;

FIG. 2, a perspective view of the upper portion of four upper rows showing the upper locks in locking and unlocking positions;

FIG. 3, a perspective exploded view of the four DETAILED DESCRIPTION In FIG. 1 there is shown a view of folding seat structure with which the invention may be employed and showing also a balcony 10 leading to an aisle 1 1 so that the seating structure may be entered by spectators from the balcony or from the floor level. In the telescoping structure, 12 designates mobile bases or carriages equipped with wheels and with a post or column 13 rising from each carriage. A frame row is carried by each column 13 and it consists of a transverse beam M connecting columns on opposite sides of the structure and supporting also platforms l5. Ordinarily, the column 13 is provided with cantilever arms on which the platform l5 rests, but it will be understood that the invention herein is applicable to any form of folding structure in which the row frames are connected upon spaced posts and support a platform 15. The platform may be a footboard or platform panel and it may be provided with a seat 16 supported at the front of the platform. However, for purposes of the present invention, the platform may be a single panel or footboard and it may or may not be provided with attached seat structures.

In the practice of the present invention, we employ a locking lever 17 in combination with a stop bar 18 and a tripper wedge or blade 19 carried by a support post 20, as shown best in FIG. 3. For the purpose of illustration, we have shown the foregoing parts attached to a seating structure shown in detail in FIG. 2. In this structure, a riser member 21 is connected to support columns 13 to provide a frame structure for each row, and a platform 22 is supported on the frame. By the term platform, we include support arms 23 on which the platform 22 rests, the support arms extending rearwardly of the riser 21 and being secured to the rear of the riser. The rear riser 21 serves the purpose of the cross beam structure 14 heretofore described in FIG. 1 and illustrating the main cross support structure uniting the columns.

As shown best in FIGS; 2 and 3, a locking lever 17 is pivotally supported upon the frame row and, in the illustration given, on the rear of member 23 by the pivot pin 24 which extends through the member 23 and is threadedly received within recess 25 in the post 20 housed within the rear portion of member 23. In the specific structure shown, the rear portion of member 23 is hollow in cross section, being preferably in the shape of the letter Z, and the post 20 is snugly received within the member 23 and anchored therein by the pivot member 24. Thus both members 17 and 19 are anchored in place by a single pivot member 24 which extends through the rear portion of member 23 and into threaded recess 25 on post 20.

The lever17 is preferably elongated at its lower side so that this serves as a counterweight which swings the upper portion of the lever upwardly into a position in front of the abutment end 18a of the stop bar 18. The stop bar 18 is secured to the platform 22 by any suitable means; however, we prefer to attach it by a slot in the member 18 and bolt means so as to provide adjustment'of the bar when this is desired.

When the frame rows are extended, the weighted lower end of lever 17 causes its upper latch end to engage the abutment end 18a of stop bar 18 and provide the locking engagement shown in the top row ,of FIG. 2.

To unlock the lever 17, we provide an inclined tripper wedge 19 which is carried by the succeeding row, and such a wedge engages the lower end of the lever 17 to cam or wedge it laterally out of engagement with the stop bar 18. In the lower portion of FIG. 2, the locking levers 17 are shown in engagement with the tripper wedge members 19 and move thereby to unlocked position.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the parts 17, 18, 19 and can be quickly and securely attached to the frame structure, the members 17 and 20 being'attached by a single pivot member and to a single rear portion of the platform structure. Such parts may be readily secured to existing seat structures in the field or attached to structures under construction.

In the illustration given in FIG. 4, upper rows of the bleacher section are shown with the lower rows folded underneath and with the upper rows shown in locked and unlocked positions. In the uppermost row shown, the locking lever is indicated by the numeral 1 7a and in the lower row by the numeral 17b, and the unlocked lever is indicated by the numeral 170. In FIG. 5, the locked lever is indicated by the numeral 17b and the unlocked lever by the numeral 17c. The inclined or wedge blade 19 by reason of its length is able to engage the lock lever 17 even thouh the frame structure is moving to and fro in the folding operation and to bring about early unlocking of the upper row. In FIG. 6, the lever 17a is shown in locking engagement with the stop bar 18, and in the row below the lever 17b is shown in partially unlocked position, while in the bottom complete row the lever 170 is shown moved by a tripper wedge 19 completely to unlocked position.

By employing the simple locking parts shown in FIG. 3, it is possible to attach the parts in the field to existing structures in a minimum of time, and the angular parts, such as the tripper wedge 19 and lever 17, may have a length of 4 to l2 inches or any suitable length which will provide engagement between the parts at an early sequence and will bring about unlocking irrespective of the irregular movements in the upper rows.

While in the foregoing specification we have set out specific structure in considerable detail for the purpose of illustrating embodiments of the invention, it will be understood that such details may be varied widely by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of our invention.

We claim:

1. A telescoping stepped row platform structure wherein a plurality of frame rows carrying platforms may be extended to open position and folded to closed position, and wherein a lower frame row is moved beneath an upper extended frame row when moving said structure to a closed position and an upper frame row is extended before the next lower frame row when moving said structure to an open position, wherein the improvement comprises upper row lock mechanism for automatically locking rows in extended position and unlocking said rows when the same are being folded and comprising: a stop bar anchored to a platform of a first upper row and terminating in an abutment end adjacent a second row immediately beneath said first row when said first and second rows are in extended position; a lock lever pivotally mounted on said second 'row frame and having a depending arm below said pivot for biasing the upper end of said lock lever normally into locking engagement with said bar abutment when said first and second rows are extended; and an elongated tripper wedge arm carried by a third row beneath said second row and extending at an inclination to said depending lever arm for camming said arm laterally to move the upper end of said lever away from said stop bar to unlocking position when said third row is moved to closed position beneath said second row.

2. The structure of claim 1 in which said lock lever and tripper are removably secured to a row frame.

3. The structure of claim 1 in which a support arm is carried by the frame in each row and said lever and tripper are mounted upon the rear portion of said support arm of their associated rows.

4. A seating structure comprising a plurality of telescoping seat rows arranged for movement between extended and retracted position, each row including carriage members, a vertical column mounted on each carriage member, a cross beam connecting said vertical columns, a platform carried by the frame in each row, a lock lever pivotally mounted on a frame for swinging movement about a horizontal axis extending in the direction of opening said structure, a stop bar mounted on a platform in a preceding upper row and having an end forming a locking abutment for engagement with the upper end of said lever, when a lower row is moved to extended position therebeneath, and a tripper wedge blade mounted on the frame of a'succeeding lower row for engaging the lower end of said lever to move the same about said axis away from said stop bar to unlocking position as a lower row is moved to closed position beneath an upper row.

5. The structure of claim 4 in which said lock lever and said tripper wedge are anchored by a single pivot member upon a row frame.

6. The structure of claim 4 in which said tripper wedge is supported upon a post which is secured to a row frame. 

1. A telescoping stepped row platform structure wherein a plurality of frame rows carrying platforms may be extended to open position and folded to closed position, and wherein a lower frame row is moved beneath an upper extended frame row when moving said structure to a closed position and an upper frame row is extended before the next lower frame row when moving said structure to an open position, wherein the improvement comprises upper row lock mechanism for automatically locking rows in extended position and unlocking said rows when the same are being folded and comprising: a stop bar anchored to a platform of a first upper row and terminating in an abutment end adjacent a second row immediately beneath said first row when said first and second rows are in extended position; a lock lever pivotally mounted on said second row frame and having a depending arm below said pivot for biasing the upper end of said lock lever normally into locking engagement with said bar abutment when said first and second rows are extended; and an elongated tripper wedge arm carried by a third row beneath said second row and extending at an inclination to said depending lever arm for camming said arm laterally to move the upper end of said lever away from said stop bar to unlocking position when said third row is moved to closed position beneath said second row.
 2. The structure of claim 1 in which said lock lever and tripper are removably secured to a row frame.
 3. The structure of claim 1 in which a support arm is carried by the frame in each row and said lever and tripper are mounted upon the rear portion of said support arm of their associated rows.
 4. A seating structure comprising a plurality of telescoping seat rows arranged for movement between extended and retracted position, each row including carriage members, a vertical column mounted on each carriage member, a cross beam connecting said vertical columns, a platform carried by the frame in each row, a lock lever pivotally mounted on a frame for swinging movement about a horizontal axis extending in the direction of opening said structure, a stop bar mounted on a platform in a preceding upper row and having an end forming a locking aButment for engagement with the upper end of said lever, when a lower row is moved to extended position therebeneath, and a tripper wedge blade mounted on the frame of a succeeding lower row for engaging the lower end of said lever to move the same about said axis away from said stop bar to unlocking position as a lower row is moved to closed position beneath an upper row.
 5. The structure of claim 4 in which said lock lever and said tripper wedge are anchored by a single pivot member upon a row frame.
 6. The structure of claim 4 in which said tripper wedge is supported upon a post which is secured to a row frame. 